Downtown Sylva bakery opens in April

A new bakery and bistro is coming to downtown Sylva. The Perk & Pastry Bistro will offer a wide array of pastries and baked goods, espresso drinks, breakfast, lunch and house-made gourmet grab-and-go items. The new business plans to open in early April.

The new bakery — a venture being launched by City Lights Café owners Bernadette Peters and Pat Thomas — will be located at 506 W. Main Street, the former Main Street Bakery and Annie’s Bakery location. With the loss of Annie’s, followed by the closure of Main Street Bakery, Peters and Thomas feel there is a need in downtown Sylva for a sustainable bakery.

“Having been involved with the Main Street Sylva Association and having started City Lights Café three years ago, we realized that the town needs more restaurants and retailers in order to thrive,” explained Peters. “The Association formed a committee to recruit key businesses to Sylva and highlight our town. We decided to step up and be a part of that by reopening the bakery.”

The Perk & Pastry will feature plenty of gluten-free and traditional sweet and savory baked goods. A new self-service bar will be added to for convenient in-and-out purchases of coffee, pastries, salads and sandwiches. A full service espresso menu will be available as well as locally made goat cheese, house-made salsas, salads, hummus and soups. Made-to-order breakfast burritos and bagel sandwiches will be offered for breakfast, as well as some of Main Street’s most popular cold sandwiches, paninis and salads.

As the owners open the new bakery, City Lights Café will no longer be open for breakfast during the week. The café will continue serving lunch and dinner seven days a week, including breakfast and brunch on the weekends.